← All 785 jobsFile 15-1221
Computer and Information Research Scientists
Also filed here: Research scientist, Computer scientist
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 21.8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
Programmers mostly use AI inside their coding tools, which consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches the job.
- Rank
- #270 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +21.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $140,300 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 38,600 in the US, with about 2,900 openings a year
The work, 17 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
AI helps with this: Design computer or information systems or applications14%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 938 conversations, and it got them there 85% of the time.
Still yours: Analyze data to improve operations12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Analyze scientific or applied data using mathematical principles7%
AI performed this in about 1 in 709 Copilot conversations and completed it 58% of the time.
Still yours: Assign work to others7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Coordinate with others to resolve problems7%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 738 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
Still yours: Evaluate project feasibility6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Communicate with others about specifications or project details6%
AI performed this in about 1 in 117 Copilot conversations and completed it 78% of the time.
AI does this: Assist scientists, scholars, or technical specialists with projects or research5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 250 Copilot conversations and completed it 79% of the time.
Still yours: Develop organizational or program goals or objectives4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Develop technical specifications for products or operations4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 1,901 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
AI does this: Train others to use equipment or products4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 494 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
Still yours: Perform recruiting or hiring activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Monitor operation of computer or information technologies4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,040 conversations, and it got them there 88% of the time.
AI helps with this: Maintain electronic, computer, or other technical equipment4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,196 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Direct scientific or technical activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Manage budgets or finances3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 122 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 2,900 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.17, higher than 59% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Programmers mostly use AI inside their coding tools, which consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches the job.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 15-1221 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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